An Unexpected Fate
by CactusJuicy
Summary: Fakir makes a decision to sacrifice his humanity in order to be with Ahiru, but not all goes as planned. His transformation leads to a shocking discovery about Ahiru, launching the pair on a quest to set things right. But how should things really be?
1. A Choice

This is my first fic in aaages. And I know that this first chapter is going to seem really cliche, but just bear with me, okay?I really hope you can read this story and not be turned off from it!

Thanks so much for reading! This is written for my own amusement, but it would make me really happy if others can enjoy it too!

Okay, time for me to shut up and get on with the story already.

Oh and **Disclaimer! If for some reason you thought I owned Princess Tutu and the characters contained in this fic, then you are mistaken! **

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><p><strong>A Choice<strong>

The sunlight danced and sparkled merrily across the waters of the lake. A boy sat the dock, pen in hand, and papers arranged on his lap. A little duck floated on the water beside him, swimming contentedly. But the boy was not content. A frustrated expression crossed Fakir's face as the wind tugged at his paper, threatening to carry it away. He meant to write, but nothing came. Why should he be writing anyway? Wasn't everything the way it should be? Everything was normal in Gold Crown, and Rue and Mytho had gone into the story, so what was there to write about?

_Ahiru. _The thought came unbidden to Fakir's mind as he watched the little duck. _You miss her human form. That's why you want to write; you want to make her human again, _his thoughts taunted him. Well it was true, though Fakir didn't want to admit it to himself. He missed Ahiru. It wasn't as if she had gone away, and he tried to be content with staying beside her even though she was now a duck, but it wasn't the same. She couldn't speak to him, and he couldn't tell her how he _really _felt about her. Well, he could, just not without feeling _completely _ridiculous. And even if Ahiru felt the same way, it would just cause her more pain because they couldn't really be together.

Ahiru lifted her head questioningly as Fakir let out a soft chuckle. He really was foolish. How on earth had he fallen in love with a duck? Even as a girl she had been clumsy and stupid. Yet, when he had found out that she was a duck, he somehow gained more respect for her. Fakir really had meant his promise to stay beside Ahiru no matter what her form, and that it was okay for her to be a duck because that was who she really was, but... it didn't stop him from wishing things could be different. He almost wished the story never had had to end, but that was so selfish, and he knew it. At least it hadn't had the tragic ending Drosselmeyer had intended, but in Fakir's case it still felt so bittersweet.

Why did Fakir's life have to be so complicated anyway? Shouldn't he just be worrying about his schoolwork or something? Though now that he thought of it he did have something he needed to read for History. He sighed and put his paper and pen down beside him, leaning backwards and letting out a sigh. School had been sort of lonely for Fakir lately without Ahiru and Mytho around. There was Autor of course, but Fakir counted him less as a friend and more of a barely tolerated acquaintance. And then there were all those girls that seemed to be hiding behind every corner, giggling.

Ahiru had sensed Fakir's frustrated mood and had flown up onto his lap, quacking concernedly. "What?" Fakir asked, sitting up a little straighter. He hadn't really been paying much attention, so she'd given him a bit of a shock. "Something wrong?" Ahiru just gave him a look that seemed to say "I know something's bothering you, so are you going to tell me or not?" Fakir could just picture her as a girl, giving him that same indignant gaze with her hands on her hips, ready to argue with him if necessary. "Look everything's fine. I was just a little worried about a History assignment I forgot about." It wasn't a total lie... Ahiru eyed him suspiciously as he tried not to look guilty. He failed miserably. Ahiru kept her expression cool as she leaned forward, gave Fakir a bite on the nose, and flew off the dock.

Fakir sat stunned for a moment. Then he shot up out of his chair. "Hey what was that for, you stupid duck? Get back here!" He started in the direction of the little yellow duck in such agitation that he tripped, falling forward into the water. For a moment all that could be seen of the boy were a few ripples on the surface of the lake, creating an almost calm scene. This effect was shattered, however as he broke upward, spitting out water. He held onto the side of the dock, rubbing his nose a little. A small blush spread across his cheeks.

As if the situation wasn't embarrassing enough for poor Fakir, Ahiru began to laugh. Or at least, she was making a sort of quacking sound that came as close to a laugh as a duck could manage. Fakirs blush deepened. He looked at Ahiru. She seemed so happy, and it was contagious. Fakir started laughing too, more sincerely than he had in a long while. "I guess that was pretty silly." Pulling himself back onto dock in the most dignified manner he could, he realized the sun was setting. "Come on, Ahiru. It's getting late, and Charon's making stew." Fakir bent down and scooped up the little duck from the water. Then he gathered his writing supplies and set off toward home.

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><p>It occurred to Fakir that most ducks' diets didn't consist of stew and other human foods, but that didn't stop Ahiru from eating enthusiastically from the little bowl Charon had put before her. But Ahiru was far from an ordinary duck. Fakir sometimes even caught her awkwardly practicing ballet. A small smile played across his lips at the memories.<p>

It had been a bit awkward explaining to his adoptive father why he had arrived home soaking wet. Charon had chuckled a little at the story and sent him upstairs to get some dry clothes on. And Ahiru had given him a look that told him she'd remember that embarrassing incident. If she was still human, Fakir thought she'd probably make sure _he_ would never forget about it either. Fakir sighed a little as he picked at his stew.

"I can tell something's bothering you." Fakir looked up as Charon spoke before looking back down at his bowl. After a few moments of silence, Charon spoke again, "It's okay if you don't want to talk about it. Just remember you can tell me anything." Fakir nodded. "It's nothing, I've just had a long day. I think I need some sleep." He stood up from the dinner table and slid in his chair. Noticing Ahiru's empty bowl and expectant look, he slid his food over to her. "Here, you can have mine. Just don't get too fat." Ahiru shot him an angry look before he headed upstairs.

Forgetting her food, Ahiru waddled indignantly after Fakir. It was amusing how she could still argue with that boy even without speaking. And as annoyed as Fakir could get with her sometimes, he really appreciated these moments. He was a little afraid about how much of her personality was there to begin with and how much she had been affected by the story. Could her feisty personality merely been an embellishment on Drosselmeyer's part? Now that the story was over, would she just become an ordinary duck, her human qualities fading away forever? Fakir needed to be prepared for that. If the time came, he knew he would have to accept it.

Fakir began preparing to sleep, Ahiru waiting outside his door while he changed. He opened the door to let her in. Soon they were both settled into bed. Fakir smiled a little at the warmth of Ahiru's small body pressed against his back. He had gotten her a basket to sleep in, but after finding feathers in his bed on multiple occasions, he ended up telling her it was fine if she wanted to sleep on the bed.

Ahiru soon fell asleep, but Fakir was restless. He'd decided to believe that Ahiru wouldn't change. It was just easier that way. He had to believe that Drosselmeyer hadn't messed with Ahiru's heart, or he was afraid his own would break. Besides that, Fakir realized that ducks didn't live as long as humans did. Of course it was obvious, but he hadn't thought of it before. He would most likely outlive her. Could he live with that? Well, Fakir would cross that bridge when he came to it. He wanted to enjoy all the time he had with Ahiru, especially if it was limited. But how could he when thoughts like these would constantly torment his mind.

_You could change things, _Fakir's thoughts taunted him once again. _You could write a story. It could come true. Ahiru could be yours. You could be happy. You know you could. You know you _want _to. _No. Fakir knew he might be able to change Ahiru back, but he had no right to. She seemed happy enough and who was he to change that? She had such a simple life, yet it seemed to be a happy one. She spent a lot of time with Fakir in the afternoons and at night, then in the daytime she'd go to the lake and uh... splash around? Why couldn't Fakir's life be more like that? Right now it was just one big headache.

A thought hit Fakir. A crazy thought. It just fell out of the sky and hit him - _hard_. It was absolutely insane. But the more he thought about, the more Fakir wondered why he hadn't thought of it before. As Fakir's mind raced, this thought seemed less and less crazy. As it was, his life was far from perfect; he didn't really have much to lose. Charon. The man had always been so kind and understanding to him - the closest Fakir had to family. He would miss Charon... but who else was there to miss? Mytho was gone, anyway. And Fakir certainly wouldn't miss Autor. So, why not? _Because it's crazy. _It wasn't that crazy! It made sense! Fakir _had _accepted that Ahiru would always be a duck, but perhaps he had been too blind to realize it was his own fate that he struggled to accept. It just didn't seem fair, but he had an idea of how to change that. Fakir slowly drifted off to sleep. He had something to write tomorrow.

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><p>Fakir considered skipping school and heading right to the lake today. His mind buzzed with anticipation. But, he knew Ahiru would think it was strange, and he didn't quite want her to know what was going on just then. He'd wait until their usual time to go to the lake. Today though, he didn't plan on coming back.<p>

Fakir's classmates and teachers were quite surprised to see him in a rather good mood. He even smiled a couple of times throughout the day. In ballet class he seemed more energetic than usual, allowing more emotion to show in his dancing than he usually did. Fakir heard the whispers. It seemed as if everyone was talking about how strangely he was acting, and to tell the truth he didn't really care. He felt almost drunk. He was letting himself be happy, for the first time in... forever! Perhaps he never had before because he was so afraid of disappointment and heartache. Fakir hadn't had the happiest life ever, and he never had expected to be happy, but suddenly he felt like it could be.

As soon as he got home, Fakir ran upstairs to gather his writing supplies. He stopped at his desk, frowning. He should... he should tell Charon. Fakir couldn't just up and disappear. But how _could _he tell his adoptive father? Fakir guessed he could write a letter; it would be easier. So, for the second time in as many days, Fakir sat down to write, and he was nearly as at a loss for words as the first time.

_Charon, _

_ If you found this letter, then you've probably already noticed I'm gone._

_ Please don't worry about me; I'll be fine. I'm really grateful to you for _

_ everything. I'm not running away, not really. I just have to leave, and I'm_

_ sorry. I can't explain. _

At least not without feeling completely ridiculous.

_I'll miss you. There is a good chance you'll never see me again. _

_ Fakir_

The words seemed so cold and unfeeling written in ink, but he had to be truthful, didn't he? Fakir sighed. Was he really going to go through with this?

Not long after that, Fakir arrived at the lake. When he greeted Ahiru warmly he could tell she saw the change in his mood. But as he sat down and straightened the papers in his lap he donned a serious expression. He had to be careful. Of course _now _it occurred to him to be nervous. There was a chance that what he wrote wouldn't come true at all, but what was scarier was what could come true if Fakir didn't write the right words.

Fakir sat thinking for a while before finally touching his pen to paper. And then his pen flew across the page. He felt almost that if he let got, the pen would keep writing on its own. Ahiru looked up, wondering what he could be writing. Just as suddenly as it had started moving, Fakir's pen became still. He smiled for a split second, _Perfect. _Then came a sharp intake of air as the world suddenly spun and rushed upwards around Fakir, leaving him dizzy. Ahiru had blinked for a moment, and in that moment, Fakir had disappeared, leaving only a pile of clothes on the dock. Ahiru quacked in alarm, and rushed towards where Fakir had been. In a few moments, a lump stirred beneath Fakir's shirt. It seemed to be trying to find its way out. Ahiru pulled the shirt away by gripping it in her beak. Quite suddenly she found herself face to face with a drake. Ahiru stood on the dock stunned for a moment.

Then she started laughing.

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><p><strong>Author's Notes:<strong> Wow! I haven't written in forever. But I was drawing a sketch for Fakiru week when I was suddenly hit by a fanfic idea. I'm feeling so super motivated and inspired. But I really should be working on schoolwork. _I_ have some reading to do for History. Plus an essay to write. Ugh essays. Anyway, I know that this kind of looks like a typical fic where Fakir decides to sacrifice his humanity and whatevs to be with Ahiru, but I promise it is not the same old thing you've read a million times, mmk? Theres a twist and you'll get to find out in the second chapter! I mean seriously, didn't you notice how happy Fakir has been toward the end of this chapter? How can I allow that when it's so fun to watch him squirm? Stay tuned for the next segment where Fakir makes a simply crushing discovery. Oh, I can't wait! See you then :) (Ku ku ku)


	2. A Discovery

**I don't own the wonderful anime Princess Tutu or any of its lovely characters, I'm just borrowing them a bit for some fun, ok?**

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><p><strong>A Discovery<strong>

She was laughing! How could she be laughing? Why on earth was she laughing?

Fakir opened his mouth... err... bill to speak, but what came was a quack that seemed half-choked out.

This resulted in more laughing/quacking from Ahiru. Why wouldn't she stop? Fakir felt his cheeks grow warm. "What's so funny, moron?" he managed to quack, still struggling at using his new voice. Ahiru let out one more tiny giggle before replying. "Oh nothing I guess... just that I can't believe you managed to turn yourself into a duck! You must have been writing pretty carelessly to do something like that!" She teased. "Plus you've got to admit you look pretty silly." Fakir's heart sunk. She thought this had been a mistake. Ahiru looked around at the papers that had been scattered around the dock. She waddled over to one filled with writing. "No!" Fakir cried out, nearly throwing himself at the paper. He tripped over his shirt and landed face first into the dock. Ahiru giggled. "Okay I won't look."

"Really, we should do something about getting you back to normal, though. Do you think Autor-" Ahiru looked concerned. "Hey, are you okay?" she asked, a bit surprised by Fakir's silence. He seemed embarrassed, but that was understandable. Ahiru just hoped he was feeling all right. "No, okay! I'm not okay! Can't you just think for once?" Fakir choked out angrily. "Why is it so hard to imagine...Why wouldn't you think... Can't you figure out I... meant for this to happen? Ahiru, I...I..." he spluttered, unable to finish his sentence. Ahiru was stunned for a few moments. Tears filled her eyes.

"Please.. Please stop crying," Fakir said more softly. He hadn't meant to make such an outburst. He just felt hurt. He knew he shouldn't have; what did he expect to happen? Fakir had really been an idiot. He'd just let himself get excited about something for once and he'd completely neglected to think things through. "No it's okay..." Ahiru quacked as tears flowed down her cheeks. "I just... Fakir, that was really sweet." Now she felt kind of bad for laughing at him. It struck her that Fakir had sacrificed his human life for her. It must have been a hard decision. Ahiru stopped crying and smiled.

Had Ahiru always looked that attractive as a duck? Fakir shook the thought away, hoping the drake part of his brain would stay pretty inactive. He was terrified that it wouldn't. Or maybe he'd need some of those instincts to even survive. Why hadn't Fakir considered any of this before writing that stupid story? He felt... kind of.. completely and utterly mortified at the moment. "Hey, Ahiru, what do ducks _eat _exactly?" He really hoped it was stew. "Umm.. you know..." Ahiru's mind fumbled to find the answer. "I.. I don't think I know," Ahiru realized. "I just always ate what you and Charon gave me and of course when I was a girl I ate human food.. so I guess I never ate anything a duck normally would." What? How could she not know something like that? She was a duck for crying out loud! Fakir's mind spiraled. "But.. before that... You were a duck before that so don't you remember what you ate then?"

Ahiru lowered her head. "No.. I.. don't really remember anything much before Drosselmeyer turned me into a girl..." Fakir's heart gave a flutter. Maybe that meant Ahiru would eventually become just an ordinary duck after all. But if she did, would Fakir do so as well? He sot of hoped the answer was yes. The thought was scary, but honestly

"Well," Fakir was beyond embarrassment now, just trying to be calm. "I guess we could always ask other ducks, right? They'll think we're complete idiots, but-"

"Oh no, you can't do that," explained Ahiru, interrupting him. "There aren't any other ducks in Gold Crown."

"What do you mean? Of course there are other ducks."

"No there _aren't. _I've looked all over town while you were at school. Even looked outside the town, but trust me, there's no other ducks."

"They must just have migrated then."

"But it's spring."

"Then they migrated late."

"Can you remember ever seeing a duck anywhere in town besides me?"

Now that he thought of it... Fakir couldn't remember seeing any other ducks, but... he must have. Ahiru had to have parents, right? His mind reeled, and his webbed feet threatened to melt out from underneath him. Why hadn't he ever noticed before? He'd never seen any ducks in Gold Crown. Maybe they had noticed the story somehow and sensibly avoided the town. But, what about Ahiru? She was here. Had she just wandered in by accident? _She's stupid enough, _thought Fakir. Yet, something about Ahiru's lack of memories bothered him. He had a strange feeling Drosselmeyer had erased them deliberately, but, why? His mind stumbled trying to find a plausible answer. If there were no ducks in Gold Crown... he was an idiot. If there were no ducks in Gold Crown, then...

But, that was impossible wasn't it? Perhaps not as much as it seemed; as a duck, Ahiru was pretty un-duck-like, preferring human food and having pretty human emotions. Add in the fact that there were no other ducks anywhere around Gold Crown and consider that for years the town had been messed up by some crazy old man's fairy tale, and it seemed quite a bit less farfetched. Ahiru wasn't a duck. The irony of the situation crashed over Fakir.

"What's wrong?" Ahiru was concerned that Fakir has been quiet so long. He had a strange look on his face that she couldn't quite pin down. She stood very still and tried to stay calm as Fakir explained his thoughts to her. It was too much to take in. First Fakir was a duck, and now she wasn't a duck? When he had finished, she felt as if she should say something. But her stomach spoke for her, growling loudly and demandingly.

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><p>"Hmm?" Charon had just been making dinner when he heard a noise outside. He'd made extra in case Fakir and Ahiru showed up as usual, but he wasn't counting on it. He had found Fakir's letter. In the past Fakir had confessed to Charon his feelings toward Ahiru, and the man had known that sooner or later his adopted son would come to one decision or another. He even had suspicions as to what that decision would be, and Fakir's letter had seemingly confirmed them.<p>

Charon didn't really expect to see Fakir around any time soon, which was he was a bit surprised to find a pair of ducks upon opening the door. It seemed that he had interrupted a bit of an argument between them, but now they were silent. Then all three just stood there for a moment. First there was the duck, who had once been turned into a girl, was again a duck, and had now found out that she possibly hadn't every really been a duck. Then there was a boy who had become a duck, because he had fallen in love with the duck when she had been a girl and happened to have a talent for writing stories that became reality because he was a descendent of the man who had turned that duck into a girl. And the duck-who-had-once-been-a-boy's adoptive father who had cared for him since his parents had been killed as a result of his power to write stories that came true, who in this awkward moment wasn't quite sure what he should say.

"Well, I suppose you two are hungry, right?" Charon tried to sound as welcoming as possible. Not that he wasn't happy to welcome the pair, but as much as he had considered this possibility, it was odd to realize Fakir had gone through with it. And even more strange to see him in this way. Charon led Fakir and Ahiru to the table and dished out some food for them.

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><p>The two had decided to sleep on opposite sides of Fakir's bed. On previous nights they had been quite comfortable laying beside each other, but now that they were the same species, that seemed a but awkward.<p>

It was a restless night for both of them, but mostly for Ahiru. Fakir hadn't slept much the night before, so he was quite tired and fell asleep relatively quickly. However, Ahiru had slept pretty well before, but just had too many thoughts swimming in her head. Could she have been a girl all along? The furthest memory she could recall was of being a duck. Or, at least she had that she was a duck. That had turned out to be true though, hadn't it? At least Ahiru had thought so at the time, but looking back on it, how could she have forgotten about being a duck before that? It was true that she didn't have any memories of being a girl before that either, but that made some sense. If Ahiru had been a duck all along, why would Drosselmeyer have bothered to do away with her memories? It made much more sense if he had done so in order to make Ahiru believe that she was a duck for the purposes of his story. Could she really have been an ordinary girl before that day? But that didn't change the fact that weeks after the story had lost its hold over the town, she remained a duck. Eventually Ahiru settled into a fitful sleep.

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><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> I guess I was pretty excited, because I sort of couldn't sleep and stayed up all night writing. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the second chapter. I've been reading a bunch of Fakiru fics lately. And there are a bunch where Fakir becomes a duck to be with Ahiru, and also some where Ahiru turns out to have been a girl all along. Then while sketching some Fakiru art it struck me as funny if those two things both happened, so this fic was born. And I blame some of those complex run on sentences on watching too much Sgt. Frog lately. ("Anyone notice that this is a cartoon, about making a cartoon, that is inspired by a cartoon, that is based on this cartoon?")

I'm not too sure this part makes a lot of sense because I'm half asleep. Well, yeah I better get some sleep now.

Anyway enjoy, and thanks so much for reading!


	3. Oops

Okay, lol I am working on Chapter 3 still, but while I was I ended up writing this short, short piece and I couldn't resist posting it. It's not meant to be an actual part of the story, or if it was it would probably best fit as a dream of Charon's or something, anyway, enjoy, lol.

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><p>An angry shout pierced the night. Charon woke with a start. He got out of bed to investigate the noise that seemed to come from Fakir's room. "Get out! Get out!" An angry green-haired boy chased after a pair of ducks with a large pillow. Feathers flew everywhere. "Fakir?" Charon asked, sleepy and confused. "Yes it's me! Why the hell were these random ducks on my bed?"<p>

... Oops.


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